Episodes

Who’s it for?: You’ll want to check out this episode if you’re struggling to solidify your business idea, grow it from the ground up, or even if you’ve done all of the above and you’re looking for a strong way to tell your story! In episode 136 of #thePOZcast, I sit down with Kara Goldin, Founder and CEO of Hint Inc. best known for its award-winning Hint® water. We start off talking about her early introduction to the world of entrepreneurship, when she got a job for a toy company and quickly rose up to learn about product margins and purchasing for the storefront. She was only 14 then, but that along with watching her father launch a brand under the company he was working for and learning about acquisitions was enough to seed her ambition to one day start her own company. We also talk about the effects of her early interest in Steve Jobs, which drove her to buy a personal Mac computer while she was in school studying journalism. Eventually that interest drove her out to Silicon Val…

Who’s it for?: If you’re looking for ideas and inspiration for problem solving the major problems of the pandemic and how to bring people together, check out this conversation with Dena! On E135 of #thePOZcast, I sat down with Dena Upton, Chief People Officer at Drift. We discussed company culture, and how to learn and adapt our way through the new challenges of COVID-19. Dena is a strong leader in people and talent access. She’s also grateful to be the CPO of Drift-- a conversational marketing platform-- where their strong principles reinforce and empower her ability to build and maintain strong teams and culture.  Dena and I discussed the eight major principles that Drift mobilizes to promote this strong culture, and we get into the specifics of how they actually put them into use-- rather than just putting them on a poster or t-shirt. Integrating these principles has been key to their team’s success, and it’s also helping them adjust in new ways during the pandemic. Dena explains…

Who’s it for?: If you’re looking to make a real impact on the environment and social causes, no matter what industry you’re in, check out Paul for a fresh perspective on doing good! In this episode, I sit down with Paul Polizzotto, Founder & CEO of Givewith. Paul and I discuss how to tackle the big problems of our time by creating healthy incentives for businesses. Paul has been innovating positive solutions to problems since early on in his career-- his first companies dealt with pollution in Manhattan Beach, where he was an avid surfer. He tells us about how he and his fellow surfers kept getting sick, and how that caused him to investigate the pollutants that were behind it. Once he realized that there was illegal dumping and other irresponsible activities taking place, he sprung into action and helped pioneer solutions to reduce pollution in his hometown. Paul would later realize that this sort of problem solving was exactly what the world needed as a whole to make real change. …

In E133 of #thePOZcast, Laurie Ruettimann and I discuss career origins, the changing industry of human resources, and how to know when it’s time for a change in your personal life and career. Staying true to the name of her podcast, Punk Rock HR, Laurie has never followed a traditional path and has always prioritized her autonomy. She describes how she’s been able to maintain that independence even through her time in corporate america, largely by finding a way to connect with people through communicating her story. She’s been blogging, podcasting, and writing for years, and that’s become her true realized passion. We get into the inspiration behind her latest work, Betting on You, which is a book that she wrote to dissect the mindset that she’s honed and put into action to create a life and career that she’s truly fulfilled by. She reflects a lot in this book and in our conversation about what her corporate gig in HR was doing to her-- leaving her exhausted, eating poorly, and gener…

In this episode, Gwen Whiting, the founder of The Laundress and I talk about what it’s like to go through the full life cycle of a business from an idea to exit. All Gwen had in the beginning was a passion for the fashion industry, and she recalls not being particularly skilled in design when she started out. What she did from that point though, was what led her to be able to eventually get The Foundress acquired by Unilever. Gwen time and time again put herself in positions where she was uncomfortable, and was able to attain tremendous growth and experience as a result. Gwen refers to her main stint in the fashion industry as “Ralph Lauren University” and even says that she didn’t leave, she graduated. She is admirably gracious for her time at Ralph Lauren, where she was fortunate to have a ton of great experience in the industry that would eventually become the inspiration for The Foundress. After witnessing how much time, money, and attention that her colleagues were spending just…

In E129 of #thePOZcast, I speak with Michael and George about the strengths of military professionals, the civilian workforce, and how the perspective of a military leader can help improve the field of talent access. The guys and I break down the transition from life at war to civilian life and work, and how purpose has changed over time. What’s most palpable is how dedicated Michael and George remain to defending our country, and how ready they are to do so again at the drop of a dime. The Talent War Co-Authors: Michael Sarraille had a 20-year career in Marine Recon and the Navy SEALs, including 10 combat deployments and currently Founder and CEO EF Overwatch. George Randle, 20 years in the US Army and now Head of Global Talent Acquisition at Forcepoint In civilian life, they’re most dedicated to winning and driving those that they consult and train to win as well. They have a partnership that’s unlike many others given their prior experience, and through their company EF Overwatch…

In this episode, Matt Bennett and I talk about the fear that comes along with chasing your dreams and the process of overcoming. Matt has been a salsa aficionado for most of his life, but it wasn’t until 2018 that he took the plunge into forming his own company around that passion, Dreams Aren't This Good (DATG). The inspiration and confidence came after years of being in the startup and corporate world, and learning some of the industry via a job he took in distribution as preparation for DATG. This is a real entrepreneurship story. After spending years on various startups, working for his friends oil company, and finally working for Big Geyser (Vitamin Water's first distributor), a switch flipped for Matt. He was ready to launch DATG, and he hit the ground running. I had a chance to speak to him about the lifestyle brand he’s established, and it’s clear that Matt has an attention to detail in everything he creates.  Each individual product has a core element such as a song or re…

Tribe, this is a pretty cool episode as it originally aired on Nick Gallo's "The Ethics Expert" podcast and I was his guest. The moment we finished recording we were both like "dude, this was amazing and everyone needs to hear this!" Nick has turned from just a "LinkedIN buddy" into a real friend. We talk shop and about life even though we have never met in person. Our values around life, family and business are aligned and it makes for a fantastic conversation to share with all of you. Nick is the Co-CEO of ComplianceLine,  the nation's leading provider of outsourced ethics, compliance, and HR services On this special episode, we dig into how YOU can accelerate your job hunt, best practices around resumes and job searching and how companies can improve the process. There is so much value in here from both of us and take-aways for folks at every level in their career. So plug in, get comfortable and enjoy two buds chop it up about all things careers and the job search journey!  If yo…

In this episode, I’m joined by Arah Sims, and we talk about her journey in starting Kyutee Beauty in the middle of the global pandemic. Arah is a great example of someone who has been able to harness her own tenacity to make the best of a bad situation, and applied it to a need that she saw in the marketplace. Since the world has nearly closed down, Arah was able to take an existing technology in the nail and beauty industry and add her own spin and purpose to it. Just because people can’t go outside anymore doesn’t mean that they don’t want to take care of themselves and look good, and Kyutee’s success is a testament to that. But for Arah, it goes far beyond helping people feel good about themselves and the way they look. Arah has also partnered with some pretty powerful people and entities, including Michelle Obama. By way of Michelle’s “When we all Vote” initiative, Arah was able to spread awareness of her product, and more importantly the importance of voting. As a woman of c…

This BEST OF episode of #thePOZcast is near and dear to my heart and features a long time friend and mentor, Joel Lunenfeld, someone I have known for 20 years. Wow. I first met Joel my freshman year of college at University at Buffalo. He was that cool older frat dude who played guitar and was really easy to talk to- seemed like he knew it all. Over the years Joel was like a big brother- through the fraternity stuff and more importantly life. He was critical in introducing me to my first internship w/ the Buffalo Sabres and later in life, paving the way for me at #VaynerMedia. Which takes us to the present- Joel has been one of the top influencers in the digital marketing and social media space for the last 20 years and recently he shifted his focus to the Cannabis Industry. He joined NorCal Cannabis Company in 2019 as the CMO to lead communications, brand strategy, CPG development, and retail marketing efforts. Before NorCal, Joel spent six years at #Twitter as Vice President of …

In this adorable episode of The POZCast, I’m joined by Father-daughter co-hosts of the “You Must Know Everything” podcast, Jeremy and Rasa Smith. As well, my daughter Nina, joins me as my co-host. Jeremy is the author of several books including “Breaking and Entering: The Extraordinary Story of a Hacker Called ‘Alien’” which he also did a spin off podcast for called “The Hacker Next Door.” In his most recent podcast with his daughter, the two were inspired to answer some of the questions they both had resulting from spending more time together in the pandemic. So for this episode, Nina and I get to pick their brains about all things quarantine and beyond. We talk about the worst parts of quarantine, splitting school time between in-person and zoom classes, and the pros and cons of making slime in the kitchen (don’t knock it ‘til you try it). Jeremy and Rasa both let us know what each other’s superpowers are, and talk about some of the things they’ve learned from one another in quar…

BEST OF #thePOZcast: Vincent Bragg & Joe Michael Nickson My guests on E51, Vincent Bragg and Joe Nickson have a truly incredible story, and we will get to that in a min. But first, quick backstory how I met Vincent. It was at SXSW 2 years ago at an event and I believe he asked the panel a question about “hiring prev incarcerated people.” At the time I started volunteering w/ Defy and said I gotta talk to this guy and content him w/ my guy Marcus Glover. Little did I know he was a Defy graduate. I introduced myself, we connected and the rest is history. Here is Vincent’s story: After being sentenced to several years in prison for running a Drug empire Vincent Bragg quickly learned that some of the most outside of the box thinking happens inside the box. During his incarceration he watched as his fellow convicts were able to make something from nothing – books, music, entire meals – all created between four barren concrete walls. It was here Vincent realized the cells meant to impri…

PART 2 In this special two part episode of The POZCast, Michael Loeb, Founder & CEO of Loeb.NYC and I cover a ton of ground, focused on what it means to leave a legacy. Michael started his career following his father Marshall Loeb’s footsteps, who was a renowned journalist and editor at Time magazine. Michael favored the business side of the publication, and was known as the “launch boy” within the company. Michael had some early successes, helping conceive fun and intriguing products like the football phone, as well as spearheading the growth and reputation of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. After a failed launch attempt with a new periodical section, and after trying to start a different venture within TIME Inc. Michael was shown the door. This began the era of what Michael calls “the most expensive rehire in history.” Michael would end up continuing to build the idea he had at TIME outside of the company, and ended up building a credit card subscription business called S…

In this special two part episode of The POZCast, Michael Loeb, Founder & CEO of Loeb.NYC and I cover a ton of ground, focused on what it means to leave a legacy. Michael started his career following his father Marshall Loeb’s footsteps, who was a renowned journalist and editor at Time magazine. Michael favored the business side of the publication, and was known as the “launch boy” within the company. Michael had some early successes, helping conceive fun and intriguing products like the football phone, as well as spearheading the growth and reputation of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. After a failed launch attempt with a new periodical section, and after trying to start a different venture within TIME Inc. Michael was shown the door. This began the era of what Michael calls “the most expensive rehire in history.” Michael would end up continuing to build the idea he had at TIME outside of the company, and ended up building a credit card subscription business called Synapse. …

In this very special episode of The POZcast, I’m joined by Grant Cardone, Mr, 10X, to discuss life, business, and his newest challenge in shooting the most recent season of Undercover Billionaire on Discovery+. We open up talking about the show and his experience, and unravel his decisions and motivations in the process of building a monstrous business after turning over all of the resources he has worked his entire life to obtain.  Grant talks about some of the split-second decisions he made that “saved his ass” early on in the competition, as well as some realizations that he came to early on in this 90-day challenge that would both haunt and motivate him throughout the challenge. We also dug in to one of the most important resources he was able to keep utilizing throughout the show-- his family-- and how that support drove him to keep pushing through the challenges. Once we finished talking about the show, I was able to ask Grant about some of the tenets of his life and mindset t…

On E131 of The POZcast, I’m joined by Jordan Harbinger, who hosts the Top Ranked iTunes podcast, “The Jordan Harbinger Show” with over 11 million monthly downloads. Jordan and I kick it off by talking about his early career, and his first endeavor into coaching and helping people learn the art of networking, relationship building and self-improvement. In 2018, Jordan started a new show completely on his own. That same year, he had amassed a huge following which led to his recognition by Apple. Jordan and I discuss some of my favorite interviews that he’s held, as well as some of his most memorable moments. From Kobe Bryant to Anthony S. Luciano recounting mob hits coordinated against the pope, Jordan has dissected his fair share of crazy stories. We also talk about the responsibilities that a podcast host has to their listeners, including the spread of information, when to be objective and when to call out a guest for lack of transparency, and how hosts can be successful by always …

In episode 123 of #thePOZcast, my guest Scott MacGregor and I talk about the business and art of recruiting, as well as how to give back. Scott is the Founder & CEO of SomethingNew and the Founder of the Talent Champions Council. He has written three books under his “Standing O!” series; or to be more specific, he’s coordinated the stories of entrepreneurs, military personnel, and other people with amazing experiences into a powerful tool for giving. Scott donates the proceeds of the series to respective causes and charities, and we dig into the inspiration and thought process behind that as well.  We also talk about Something New, which is Scott’s answer to the flaws that he saw in the recruiting industry. Scott and I share a ton in common in the way of trying to fix old habits that recruiters have developed overtime, so much so that Scott has actually started to prefer to hire candidates without experience in the industry. We also talk about his company’s unique namesake, and how h…

Jackson Jeyanayagam: Vice President & General Manager of DTC at the Clorox Company In this episode, Jackson discusses the importance of people-first in business. Jackson has had some terrific experiences-- whether it be joining Chipotle as Head of Digital via cold outreach, getting involved at Boxed during its early years, or joining a legacy brand like Clorox Company. Like most top performers, Jackson has been able to hone his ability to listen to his gut when his next step is unclear, and it’s led him on an illustrious career path. Jackson sits down and really fills in the blanks between each point on his resume, and explains his thought process in moving from company to company. For those thinking about making a transition or just planning out their career trajectory, Jackson takes a refreshingly thorough look at why he has made the moves that he has. He and I break down company culture, and how to confidently negotiate the terms of your own hire. We also dive into strategies fo…

Continuing the trend, for those of you that have been following along my career journey you may have noticed that I have some guests on that have been integral to my career journey and my next one, Jamal “Jay” Salim is certainly one of them. Jamal was the head of HR when I joined Boombox aka Ergo Interactive. It was a shortstop in my career before I moved over to Vayner but it was critical as I learned a ton in those few short months about myself, tough clients and finding success inside a small agency. More importantly, I made a lasting friend and powerful business connection with my man Jay. Most recently, Jamal was the People Lead at Complex, where he is leading the culture of the company synonymous with culture. Prior to Complex, Jay led the HR department at Laundry Service, an Ad Age Top 10 Agency two years in a row, and Cycle Media. Like me, he is Brooklyn Born, him in East Flatbush and me in Sheepshead Bay, which we both take a lot of pride in. Jay is also a Veteran of th…

Matt Higgins: CEO and Co-Founder at RSE Ventures, Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School On E113 of The POZcast, Matt and I dig into everything from experiencing 9/11 as the youngest press secretary in New York City history at the time, to operating as the executive vice president of the New York Jets. Matt has had a full-plate since he grew up in poverty in Bayside, Queens. As early as 12 years of age, Matt felt the pressure to take care of himself and his siblings, and prepare himself to eventually help take care of his single mother, who dealt with chronic health problems. Matt decided to drop out of high school after realizing school wasn’t for him, and ended up getting his GED so he could attend Queens College. Matt was able to secure some jobs in the press and eventually worked himself up to the position of Rudy Giuliani’s press secretary, at which time his mother passed away. Not long after, the tragic events of 9/11 occurred, and Matt spent the next two years crafting…

Tribe, please join me in welcoming my incredible guest, Cathy Heller. Each week Cathy encourages thousands and thousands of listeners on her top podcast “Don’t KEEP your Day Job” to find more purpose in their life and get paid to do what they love full time. Cathy’s show has been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur Magazine, HuffPost, and Inc Magazine, and has over 10 million downloads. She’s been featured several times by Apple themselves and the fans are resonating with how genuine she is. Throughout the show, she has interviewed creative entrepreneurs like actress Jenna Fischer, Seth Godin, designer Jonathan Adler, make up artist Bobbi Brown, singer songwriter Colbie Caillat, Jimmy Choo co-founder Tamara Mellon, producer Brian Grazer, Shark Tank’s Barbara Corcoran, Starbucks’s Howard Schultz, and Gretchen Rubin to name a few. Cathy’s book Don’t Keep Your Day Job was released in November 2019 with Macmillan. It’s filled with inspirational stories from people within her own tribe …

Tribe, I am thrilled to present my 100th episode of #thePOZcast. I thought long and hard about who would be the perfect guest and thought it would be a great opportunity to share my real story and go deep into my “big loss.” For this episode, my friend, mentor and coach Brian Cristiano will turn the tables and interview me. We originally recorded this show for my RecFest presentation. We will start with my background, from landing my dream job at VaynerMedia working for Gary Vee to ultimately getting fired and the aftermath. The real story is how I became truly self aware, took accountability, being vulnerable and harnessed my inner tenacity to drive my own career forward. It came with lots of challenges and I will discuss how I overcame them and how each step made me more resilient. Ultimately, taking ownership and accountability of my losses, my mistakes, made me stronger and the man I am today. This is my story and I appreciate you joining me for this journey I call The POZ…

Welcome to the 99th episode of #thepozcast. I am proud and humbled to introduce my guest, the 55th Governor of The State of NY, David Paterson. We will unpack everything from his career before Governor, during and after, racism in America, police brutality and a ton more. For those of you who are unfamiliar with him, Gov David Paterson is a member of the Democratic Party who served as the 55th governor of NY, succeeding Eliot Spitzer and serving out nearly three years of Spitzer’s term from March 2008 to the end of 2010. He is the first African American to serve as Governor of New York and the second legally blind governor of a U.S. state. If you want to hear his entire fascinating life story, be sure to check out his book, “Black, Blind and In Charge”, out now. It is a title that hits you right between the eyes, second only to a Governor put in office by a prostitution scandal. Scandals aside, David Paterson overcame severe disability and racial prejudice to become a state senato…

Many of you know Claude Silver as the Chief Heart Officer at #VaynerMedia, serving as Gary’s right hand to be the steward of culture and people. For those who may be unfamiliar w/ my story, I worked at Vayner in 2014-15 for about 7 months before ultimately losing my job. Claude played a critical role in coaching me through that difficult time. She is a trusted ally and I am forever grateful. More importantly, I want to use this opportunity to help others who may have been or are in my shoes, struggling in their job or career search to find their inner tenacity to overcome and triumph in a bad work situation. We will get into that and a whole lot more why I truly love this woman and pretty sure you will as well. If you enjoyed this episode, check out more at www.thePOZcast.com